Alright Already...

I want to lay it all out on the table -- my passion for/obsession with young adult fantasy novels is totally geeky. But as it's grown, I've found more and more closet geeks. People who quietly ask me for book suggestions. Women who hide Twilight in their purses, and those who are brazenly open about preferring Harry Potter to Hamlet. This blog's for you... so I can share my old favorites, and new favorite finds, and hopefully get some suggestions in return.

It really did start with Harry Potter for me, as it did for so many. Our love affair began when I was a junior in college working at a little independent book store. There was a huge buzz and not a small amount of controversy when the third book was released, so I decided to read them. I picked up my copy of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and took it with me to a seedy diner as a break from finals studying. Needless to say, I didn't get much studying done, but found myself engaged in these books in a way I'd never experienced before. Up until this point, I loved books... physical books... but was a casual reader. Harry Potter? I truly couldn't put them down. And so it began...

During the Potter years, in the long stretches between books, I would re-read frequently and eventually branched out to try the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman. I had trouble getting into "The Golden Compass" for about the first 100 pages, but pushed through. By "The Subtle Knife" I was hooked, and for the first time since reading "Where the Red Fern Grows" when I was seven, I sobbed at the last pages of "The Amber Spyglass" which for me, is kind of a big deal.

My inner geek was still relatively under wraps, however. Sure, I loved Harry Potter, but so did a ton of people, and my affinity for the His Dark Materials books could hardly be called an obsession. Until Rowling's fated Book Seven. I felt like there had been a death in the family. I honestly went into a sort of mourning. I had enjoyed these books for so many years, and there would never be another. I had escaped to Hogwarts when things got tough time and time again. I had looked forward to and celebrated their releases, and there would never be another party. I was lost.

At one of the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" release parties, I won a copy of "Twilight" in a trivia contest (naturally). I'd seen it on the shelf many times, but frankly, vampires? Kinda creepy. And Forks? Well, it was no Hogwarts. In a weak moment of boredom and desperation I started reading. If Harry Potter was my short sleeve dress shirt, and His Dark Materials were my horned rim glasses, Twilight was my pocket protector. There was no stopping the inner geek now. In the years that have followed there have been favorite finds and total duds -- characters that have become like old friends -- and suprises and suspenses that have kept me up all night. My geeky books have become more than just something to do... they have become a passion and I'm not afraid to admit it.

So to start us off, here are those books or series you simply must read:
1. The Harry Potter Books -- It's like Mecca for young adult fantasy geeks. The alpha and the omega. JK's masterpiece taught a new generation to read and brought all generations back to books. You gotta love 'em.

2. The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner -- These three are actually my favorite books of all time. Subtle and sophisticated, the twists are completely unexpected and complex, but so well orchestrated you can't help but admire Turner. It's only in re-reading them, however, that you realize she's woven the "suprises" into the books from the very beggining to create a series and protagonist, Gen, I come back to again and again.

3. The His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) -- Oh sure, they're controversial in their subject matter (a church with an oppressive iron rule and a rebellion against The Authority aka God), but they also feature loveable characters (Iorek Byrnison, Lee Scorsby), vivid imagery of new worlds and a beautiful tale of friendship, support and love.

4. The Twilight Trilogy by Stephenie Meyer -- Trilogy, you say? Yes, trilogy. Because, frankly, Breaking Dawn doesn't count. Oh sure, you have to read it to see how it all ends, but then just sock it away on your shelf and forget it ever happened. Or as one of my gay friends always says, "Pretend Bella dies and Jacob and Edward run away together to raise the baby... who they re-name." (I may have thrown that last part in there on my own). Books one through three, though, are magic. Addictive, even, and remind us all what it feels like to fall in love.

5. The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins -- Catching Fire just came out this week, and wow, it did not disappoint. I have rotated The Hunger Games into my very short list of excellent books to gift to my favorite people. I won't say much about it because I know many people probably haven't read it yet, but this post-apocolypitic book is remarkable. Written in the rare first-person present tense (I walk, I talk, I see) the tone matches the pace of the book with characters you respect, villains you loathe and an unexpected and surprising plot. Book two is the perfect mix of foreshadowing and predictability to allow you to be punched in the gut when Collins delivers the twist you never see coming.

6. Graceling by Kristin Cashore -- This standalone book (the only on the list) will soon have a partner (Fire is slated for an October 5 release) and I hope Cashore's sophomore attempt doesn't disappoint. Featuring a strong female protagonist and her heartwarming and mischevious male counterpart, I'm excited for my re-read of Graceling before Fire's release.

7. The Looking Glass Wars and Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor -- Another re-read is in my future with this duo as Beddor will add Arch Enemy to his collection on October 15. This creative duo, a re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, is full of high-tech political intrigue, murder, rebellion and one of my favorite literary characters ever... Dodge Anders. I love him I love him I love him.

Certainly there are more, and I'll revisit old favorites in the down time between new books, but with lots of pending new releases, so much growth in this genre, and some real gems coming out of the masses, our inner geeks are certain to be satisfied with literary fodder for years to come.